


She Dances Among The Stars

by Smidge



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2017-12-14 23:28:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smidge/pseuds/Smidge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Legend tells us of a girl, from the original planet Earth, who lived many, many years ago; with a message..." </p><p>The Doctor and River go on an adventure together - only to discover it is the beginnings of the biggest adventure of their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this, and loved it and have kept it a while and done nothing with it - I keep getting ideas and have great plans for the future of this fic - but I wanted to see what you guys think first.
> 
> Do you like it? Does it have potential? Should I continue?  
> Have a read of this short chapter and let me know your opinions.
> 
> Enjoy x

 “Tell him,” Clara whispers roughly in River’s ear as she leaves the TARDIS.

“I _will_ ,” she whispers back solemnly.

Clara turns and waves to the Doctor as if everything is fine. “See you next Wednesday,” she calls out cheerily and the doors close behind her.

“You like her then?” The Doctor asks hesitantly as he begins setting a new course for the TARDIS.

“Yes, sweetie,” River nods as she moves back up to the console to join him, “she’s lovely.”

“What did she say to you?” he frowns curiously at his wife.

“When?”

“Just now...”

“Oh,” she waves her hand dismissively, “nothing important.”

He pauses in his movements around the console, eyeing her sceptically. “It _seemed_ important...”

“Well, it wasn’t,” she huffs and flicks her hair before intervening with his terrible driving. “Where are you trying to direct her, sweetie?”

His face lights up. “Legend tells us of a girl, from the original planet Earth, who lived many, _many_ years ago; with a message...”

River’s brow crinkles as she tries not to appear as intrigued as she actually is. “What message?”

“A very important message; some say she holds the secret to the beginning of time itself...”

“So what does she _say_ in this message?”

“Well, no one really _knows_ ,” he mutters as he continues to pull levers.

“Doctor?” she stands with her hands on her hips, unimpressed.

“It is said she speaks in Old High Gallifreyan,” he explains, noting her frustration, “And no one can translate it...”

“Except _you_ ,” she finally cottons on to why they are visiting, her eyes glowing with excitement.

“Except _me_ ,” he confirms, setting the TARDIS down gently and bopping River on the nose. “Shall we see what she has to say?”

River races to the doors, opens them immediately and strides out, closely followed by the Doctor.

They are in a rural area of the world; very beautiful, sparsely populated, New Zealand. A young Maori man greets them and introduces them to his great grandfather; a form of archaeologist who has been studying ancient messages almost all his life.

“This one is proving quite the puzzle though, I must say,” his voice is old and wavering; the man having celebrated his hundredth birthday not two days before.

“Doctor,” River gains his attention, looking around her as if listening out for something. “She’s... _singing_.”

“Yes, she is,” the old man replies, taking in River’s curiosity with keen interest.

“What is she saying?” she asks.

“Nobody knows, my child,” the old man replies, “it is said only one in this universe will ever be able to translate it; many come to try, but alas, they fail.”

“Well then today is your lucky day,” the Doctor chimes in proudly, “because _that_ , my friend, is Old High Gallifreyan...”

“Indeed it is...”

“And _I_ am ‘the Doctor’.”

The younger man gasps while the old man smiles in appreciation. “The last of the Timelords.”

“And I know Old High Gallifreyan,” he winks and turns to River who gives him a look as if to say ‘stop showing off’. “Oh, shut up. You love it really.”

“What is she saying then, Doctor?”

He listens as the beautiful voice washes over the land; his smile of joy from the perfectly angelic sound soon turning sour as he deciphers the meaning of the message.

“ _Doctor_?” River asks in concern, a comforting hand finding his shoulder.

“What does it sound like to you, River?” he asks.

“I-I don’t know...I don’t know Old High Gallifreyan, you know that...” she shakes her head in defeat.

“I don’t mean the words; I mean the song; the tune; the _emotion_.”

River stands silently and listens, contemplating the Doctor’s words and the way he had responded when he had _really_ listened. Her smile falls from her face also.

“Well, at first she sounds happy, angelic; like a young girl singing a beautiful tune...” she begins.

“But?” the Doctor urges.

“But it’s not happy,” she shakes her head in sorrow, “It’s sad; mournful. It almost sounds as if she’s crying; like her heart is broken.” She gazes at the Doctor praying she is incorrect.

“She’s not as young as she sounds,” he mutters.

“No,” the old man adds, “she’s not a young girl anymore.”

“Doctor,” River sighs, all happiness seeping out of her at the poor girl’s song, “please tell me what she is saying.”

He takes a deep breath. “She is calling out to someone...someone she lost; or they lost her,” he sighs, “either way, they’re not together anymore and they haven’t been for a long time.”

“Who is she calling to?” Her voice is tiny as she fears the answer.

“Her family, well...more precisely, her parents,” he rubs his hands together worriedly.

River gasps quietly and looks toward where the sound is coming from. “Can we go to her? Can we help her?” She turns to face her husband longingly, “ _please_ Doctor.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” the old man interrupts.

“Why not?” the Doctor rounds on him, his sorrow and helplessness fuelling his anger.

“Because she’s not here, Doctor.”

“What do you mean she’s not here?”

“I mean, you are hearing a recording,” the old man explains, “sort of. Well not really.” He frowns as he tries to gather his thoughts. “What you are hearing is the amplification of a signal, found almost sixteen years ago; I have been studying it for all those years and only now do I know the true meaning of this mournful song.”

“So where is she?” River asks, again afraid of the answer.

“No one knows the origin of the signal,” the younger man replies.

“She could be anywhere,” the old man adds.

“Anywhere on the planet, you mean?” River ascertains.

“Anywhere, in the whole of time and space,” the Doctor confirms regretfully.

“Doctor we have to find her,” River insists, “we have to _help_ her.”

“We can’t River, we have no idea where to look,” he waves his hands in exasperation; he has a strange pull towards this girl and it seems River does too. As much as he would like to find her and help her to find her parents, the task is next to impossible; it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“Can’t we just _try_ ,” her frustration starts to turn into anger.

“ _River_ ,” he shouts in warning, he hates that he can’t save this girl.

“ _Doctor_ ,” she shouts back in annoyance.

He growls, running a hand through his hair as he thinks. “Is there ever any change?” He asks the old man.

“In the words?”

“ _Yes_. Yes, is there ever a change in the words?”

“Yes,” he nods.

“When? What?”

“Once a year,” the old man explains, “that bit that sounds the most heart-breaking; she sings something different. Only once a year. And it is always the same change.”

“ _That_ bit?” the Doctor holds up a finger as if to point out a specific part of the song.

“Yes.”

“She is crying ‘mother, father’,” he glances to the ground as he thinks and River feels a lump come to her throat.

There is silence for a moment before the old man speaks up again.

“Well you’ve come on a good day, Doctor,” he begins and the Doctor looks up to him sharply, “it has been exactly a year since she last changed her words.”

The Doctor looks to River with hope and she smiles feebly, attempting to give him encouragement.

“Just... _listen_.”

The small group fall absolutely silent. The song echoes around the mountains and her voice skims across the lakes to them. She sings the same thing every time; always calling for her ‘mother’ and ‘father’. Over and over she sings. The same tune, the same volume and intonation, the same heart-wrenching emotion. Until, after what seems like hours, the Doctor is about to give up when he hears something else; it sends a shiver down his spine.

“There,” River notices, “that was different. What did she say?” She turns to him expectantly to see his face ashen with shock. “ _Doctor_?”

“Did you not understand _any_ of it?” he finally manages to speak, but he doesn’t look at her.

“No...” she replies, a little unsure, “should I have done?”

He takes a deep breath in. “She called my name,” he whispers.

“What?” River looks at him in shock.

“In place of where she usually sings ‘father’...”

“She sung ‘Doctor’?” River frowns.

“No,” he turns to gaze at her, “my _real_ name.” He holds his hands out to River and she takes them in hers, squeezing tightly. “She called your name too.”

Her eyes widen in shock. “In Gallifreyan?”

“No. She called ‘Melody’,” his voice is calm, although he isn’t feeling it. “Didn’t you hear her?”

“I don’t think I was ready,” she drops her head.

“So...” the younger man pipes up, “she’s your daughter?”

River’s eyes rise to meet her husband’s once more; a questioning gaze; not quite able to believe this to be true.

“Yes,” he replies solemnly, “So it would seem.”

He looks deep into River’s eyes for a few moments before breaking his silence.

“Thank you gentlemen,” he turns and shakes their hands before grabbing River’s wrist and hurrying back to the TARDIS.

“Where are we going?” She asks through the tears that have begun to fall.

“Nowhere,” he replies, distracted by driving.

“ _Nowhere_?” Her anger returns, “But, Doctor, she’s our _daughter_ ; we have to find her.”

“No.”

“What do you mean ‘ _no_ ’,” she places her hands on her hips as she rounds on him. “We can’t just leave her; she is our DAUGHTER.”

“We don’t _have_ a daughter, River,” he argues.

“Not _yet_ , but we might do one day,” she tries to counter.

“It could be a trap, River, _everyone_ knows how much we mean to each other and how I will go to any length...” he pauses at her ‘ _what_ _the_ _hell’_ look, “alright, how _we_ will go to any length to rescue anyone who deserves it, and _family_...well...”

“But Doctor I don’t think it _is_ a trap. I think our daughter genuinely needs us,” she chokes on a sob.

“Well, I don’t want to risk it.”

“You would if it was _Clara_ ,” she screams.

This seems to work. He halts on the spot, spinning on his heel to face her; anger burning like fire in his eyes.

“Clara is _different_.”

“How?”

“She’s _Clara_. We _know_ her. We know she’s _real_.”

“Our daughter is real too.”

“No, she’s not.”

“Yes, she is.”

“No, she is _not_.”

“Doctor, she _is_ ,” she shouts, striding up to him until their noses are almost touching, with a protective hand over her stomach.

He glances down to her dainty hand and then up to her tear-filled eyes; perfectly serious and threatening. His eyes flick down and back up again. And again. His mouth opening and shutting like a goldfish, as realisation sets in; as if he can’t find the words.

“I’m pregnant,” she finally announces.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I must apologise for how long it has taken me to upload any more of this story - it has been difficult to get right, and I have also started a new job as a community actor which is taking up a huge amount of my time...and energy.
> 
> Secondly, I want to thank you all for your wonderful comments and encouragement. I love this story and I want it to be really good, hence why it has taken me so long to post. I have re-written the entire story a couple of times and am now happy with where it is going to go.
> 
> Thirdly, I must warn you that it is not yet complete and may take a while still for me to upload the entire thing. But I will finish it. It needs to be completed! But I thought I would give you another chapter to give you a sneaky glimpse into another character's viewpoint. (I must say I don't often like changing viewpoints in fics as it can be disorienting, but this will mostly be from the viewpoint of this next character, with a few little scenes looking in on River and the Doctor on occasion.)
> 
> And finally,
> 
> Enjoy x

She is running. She finally figured out the code and now she is running for her life. She doesn’t risk a glance back. She doesn’t consider anything, her mind concentrating solely on escaping. If they catch her, she is likely dead, for good. 

They won’t catch her.

She won’t let them.

Lord only knows how long she has been here.

Trapped.

Alone.

They threw her carelessly into the dark, damp prison cell when she was only a child. She was scared of everything back then. Illness would consume her, wounds would grow infected; she’d regenerated twice now and she doesn’t know how many lives she has left.

Now she is older and braver and wiser. She is able to visualise time and the lives of those around her. She sees how they merge and twist around each other; how every individual is linked. But she cannot picture her own timeline. She cannot work out how her life fits around the lives of anyone else on this god forsaken planet.

She gave up on reading time long ago, concentrating all her energy on escaping. She sings a song of hope and desperation for anyone who will listen; sending it out across the universe on a loop. She hopes it will reach someone who can help her; little does she know that it spreads out through the entirety of time and space, in search of the two people she needs most.

She learns what the prison guards like and flirts with them until they allow her extra time out, or let her keep her light on after hours, or bring her more food. She focuses her attention on the code-locked system outside her door, forever trying to figure out the combination. But she is only ever given a week before the combination is changed.

She almost gives up all hope of rescue or escape until one fateful day when her most favourite guard, aptly named ‘Palti’; meaning ‘salvation’, is able to give her the first two numbers. With a head-start like that on the first day after the change, she actually has a chance. A chance she grabs hold of, with two strong, capable hands and does not let go of. And she wins.

Now all she does is run. She thanked Palti with a swift kiss before running as fast as her legs would carry her. She pays no heed to the angry shouts and warning calls that follow her; her only aim, to escape. 

“Ana,” a dark, booming voice startles her as the large shadowy figure of the guard she knows to be ‘Dara’ steps into her path. “You can’t leave.”

“I have to,” she pants, still running; she knows he’s going to stop her, though. She desperately tries to formulate a way to dodge past him.

“Ana,” he warns.

“Dara, please,” she begs, out of breath as she catches up to him and he does not move out of her way. The rest of the guards are so far behind her now, she thought she had made it, thought she had escaped. She could smell the sweet fragrance of her freedom. But her world comes crashing down once more as she regresses, and her childhood fears of entrapment take over, tears coming to her eyes.

She blinks them back as she hops from foot to foot in frustration, the adrenaline pumping through her veins, ensuring she is ready to fly as soon as she is set free. “Dara, I did nothing wrong,” she tries, “you know that. I have to go. I have to find my parents.”

“You’ve been here so long, Ana,” he replies solemnly, “Don’t you think if your parents still wanted you they would have rescued you by now?”

“They have no idea where I am,” she cries, “I ran away.”

“Why did you run away, Ana?”

“Because I was scared.”

“What were you scared of, Ana?” He sounds like a bloody therapist. She doesn’t have time for this, she can hear the other guards voices behind her; she has to leave, now.

She growls in frustration. “I was scared my parents didn’t want me anymore,” she answers quietly.

“Why wouldn’t they want you?”

“Because...because I did something bad...”

“So you did do something wrong?”

“No,” she shakes her head, nervously looking over her shoulder as the voices get louder. “I-I-I was brainwashed,” she faces him again, “like my mother.”

“Your mother was brainwashed?”

“You know about my mother, Dara, I know you do,” her frustration starts to get the better of her and she forces herself to breath slowly. “You were there, you were one of Madame Kovarian’s minions; don’t pretend you don’t know what I am talking about.”

“I know,” he sighs forlornly, “I am sorry for everything that happened to your mother. She lost so much.”

“And now she’s lost me; her only daughter,” she latches on to his words with everything she has, trying to turn it around so that he’ll let her by. “Let me go back to her, Dara, she doesn’t deserve this pain.”

“You’re right,” he nods curtly after a tense minute, “You must go to her.” He steps aside and looks up over her shoulder as she passes him to see the other guards rounding the corner.

“There she is!”

“Thank you so much Dara,” she smiles appreciatively at him and he blocks the way for the rest of the guards.

“Good luck Ana,” she hears him call out as the other guards curse and swear and hit him.

She hears a thud as he obviously falls to the floor from their beatings, but she doesn’t look behind her. Her hearts pound in her chest, her little legs taking her as fast as possible from the building and out into the night.

She finds an old taxi pod and jumps inside, wasting no time in sealing the door, starting it up and taking off into space. Only then does she look back; glancing at the monitor that shows her what is behind her, and she laughs in delight at the tiny figures below; shaking their fists and jumping up and down in frustration and anger.

Another monitor beeps to signal an incoming vessel and she sobers immediately, putting the pod into evasive mode before fiddling with a few loose wires and making her invisible.

Once safely out of reach, she sighs, leaning back in the chair and wondering where to start her search. She has no idea how long she has been in that cell, stuck on that poor excuse for a planet; her parents could be anywhere. Since this pod cannot travel through time, she supposes she’ll have to stick with now; whenever she is. And she taps in the co-ordinates for Earth; a planet she is familiar with as one of her parents’ favourites.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are wonderful and comments even better :) x


End file.
